Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly receiving a flurry of pitches from Korean studios eager to develop new games based on the iconic StarCraft franchise. According to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today mentioned four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—that are vying for the opportunity to expand the StarCraft universe. These companies have even journeyed to Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their innovative ideas.
NCSoft, known for its successful MMOs like Lineage and Guild Wars, has proposed a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, the creator of The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, with titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad under its belt, is aiming to develop a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, the powerhouse behind PUBG and the upcoming The Sims competitor inZOI, is looking to leverage its development capabilities to craft a new StarCraft experience.
While pitches between video game companies are commonplace, the interest from these Korean studios has sparked excitement among StarCraft fans, especially given the franchise's long hiatus since its last release. Activision Blizzard has remained tight-lipped, declining to comment when approached by IGN.
Adding to the buzz, Blizzard is reportedly making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter. This project is being led by Dan Hay, a former Far Cry executive producer who joined Blizzard in 2022. The news surfaced during a discussion on IGN's Podcast Unlocked with Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who mentioned the project in his book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment."
Schreier noted, "If it's not canceled! This is Blizzard after all. Their history with StarCraft shooters is not good." He confirmed that the StarCraft shooter was in development at the time of his book's writing, emphasizing Blizzard's persistent interest in the franchise despite past setbacks.
Blizzard's previous attempts at StarCraft shooters have been less than successful. StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002, aimed to be a tactical-action console game but was canceled in 2006 after numerous delays. Another project, codenamed Ares, was canceled in 2019 to prioritize Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Described as "like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe," Ares also failed to see the light of day.
More recently, Blizzard has been hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with indications pointing towards it being a StarCraft FPS. Additionally, Blizzard has been actively engaging with the StarCraft community by releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announcing a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone.
These developments suggest that Blizzard is slowly but surely ramping up efforts to revive and expand the beloved StarCraft universe, much to the anticipation of its dedicated fanbase.
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